Poetry Friday - For Moms and Memories

 

created by Linda Mitchell

It's Poetry Friday, and Linda Mitchell is hosting HERE on her blog, where it's time for "clunkers"! Be sure to visit to see what that means!   

   

           Almost Mother's Day, I'm honoring those in my life: my mother, my grandmothers (I had three!), aunts and great-aunts, sister-in-law, daughter, daughter-in-law, many, many friends who gave me support as a mother, and as a woman. In the recent weeks, two of my longtime woman friends have passed. I am so sad to say goodbye, but grateful that we were special friends in different parts of our lives, as mothers, as colleagues, as women. I know that this Mother's Day will be sad for their children and loving family, yet memories help us remember what wonderful mothers they were. Here's one evening in my mind from long ago. 

Ray Hennessy rayhennessy, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Evening Sounds Push Back Time 

                (Mother to Mother to Mother)

 

Dusk murmurs heard next door,

down the street,

across the park:

My neighbor crosses over the driveway

asking ‘how is Sarah getting along?’

(My daughter, due in two months.)

I tell ‘she’s fine, getting a little uncomfortable,

but feels good still.’

 

Then, I hear my grandmother, Sarah,

call, “Yoo hoo, Mrs. Judy, how are your tomatoes doing?

Mine are not looking so well this year.  Those bugs!”

 

Later, across the park, it’s “Come home, Charlie, come home.

It’s getting dark out,

time for bath,

time for bed,

time for stories.”

Then— 

 

“Linda, Linda, are you up in that tree?  It’s really

too dark for you to be climbing still.  Come on in now.  Is that

Alice with you?  Alice May, you get on home now.  Your momma’ll

be worried to death.”

 

My husband clinks away the rake, the shovels.

The broom whispers across the porch, my hands

or my mother’s– final work today?

 

Mom, come in, come in to visit a while.

I hear you sweeping on the porch

at last light,

as I turn the pages of my book.

                                                     Linda Baie ©

Monday Reading! For National Space Day and Beyond!

            

        Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

        Last Friday, May 3rd, was National Space Day!  I have some great space books to share, including a fictional one, and one that will make you feel very good about our special earth! 

        If you haven't read anything about this, it's a space book, too! I cannot bring myself to tell you anything, except it's about one young man, fearful of a lot of things including going into middle school, one high school girl, his babysitter and certainly not afraid of much, an older man, caretaker of the apartment complex where the kids live, plus a strange young man who just arrived. It's a heart-in-your-throat story! DON'T MISS READING THIS NEW BOOK BY ERIN ENTRADA KELLY! 

Thanks to June Cotner & Nancy Tupper Ling
for the joy of receiving this copy!

           Considering space, so celebrated when astronauts years ago first saw, then shared that amazing picture of our "blue marble", thus it feels as if I should also highlight and share a book filled with poetry, blessing our Earth in numerous heartfelt poems that celebrate its inhabitants, and finally, share poems to come to its aid. June and Nancy have written the intro, inviting parents and children to both cherish the earth and "become stewards of all its beauty." Separated into five sections, from "Dreams and Prayers for My World" to "Caring for Our World", readers will meet poets new to them and read poems from familiar poets, like Karla Kuskin, Langston Hughes, and Aileen Fisher.    

           I was also excited to read special poems from Charles Ghigna, Matt Forrest Esenwine, and Irene Latham, familiar poets who are publishing today! Charles tells readers to "Think Like A River," Matt's poem is Honeybee, and Irene shares Hymn, about a coyote!         

            Also, a surprise, there are some older familiar rhymes/songs, like "The Johnny Appleseed Grace," which I remember singing at camps long ago. "Oh, the Lord is good to me,/And so I thank the Lord, For giving me the things I need:/The sun, the rain, and the apple seed./Oh, the Lord is good to me." There is a wonderful poem, too, from a ten-year-old young woman from the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska. Her first lines: "If I were a bird/I would fly like an eagle/Through the sweet summer sky/All day Long." The book is rich with beautiful words about Earth, and further enriched with the beauty of Keum Jin Song's illustrations! See that gorgeous cover! 

          Note: the "blue marble" photo was taken on December 7, 1972, by astronauts on Apollo 17. You can find out more on Wikimedia here!

Thanks to Candlewick Press for these four space books!

 

        Dr. Marc J. Kuchner feels like the emcee of a game show, starting off with the question of which might be left standing "in this incredible planetary smackdown"?  It's such a fun idea, makes one want to read fast, though the explanations of what each is, how they change as they move through space, and react with collisions are thorough and wonderfully illustrated by Matt Schu. How much each weighs, or can weigh, how they change temperatures, all about an "Oort Cloud", and the variations of what each one is like are all explained simply and illustrated. In a study of these two fascinating space objects, this will be the book to show so much about them and to inspire more and more questions for further research. It's terrific! 

         It's a fantastic story of the one whom Michael J. Rosen calls "the most vertical woman in the world". Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan has gone the highest and the deepest (in the ocean), setting three world records for her Space Shuttle Missions and ocean diving. She's studied both places and this time she and Michael give a tour about what to do "before" even applying to become a space astronaut and the path to being one 

           Shared first are the mental challenges and then the athletic expectations to becoming a Nasa astronaut. In easy-to-understand explanations, with photos by NASA, and drawings by Michael, readers can begin to understand the incredible journey to becoming ready, to be athletically and mentally fit to become an astronaut, and to do space walks. Susan has done three! The story is illuminated by cartoon drawings and real photos from NASA, clear explanations of equipment, how every part of the spacesuit works, safety rules, and much more! It's quite intriguing to see all that has been invented in order to do all that they do, in space! Those interested in this area will love the book, and be inspired to learn more! 

Poetry Friday - Wisdom from Long Ago

created by Linda Mitchell

It's Poetry Friday, and Buffy Silverman is hosting HERE on her blog, sharing a "tale of a tail" that will maybe alarm, but certainly entertain! 

     I finished Poetry Month, wrote 29 poems and shared one by another poet, about the sweetest reflection about a mother. I am pleased with some, believe others filled the day, but perhaps are forgettable. That's okay, and I enjoyed having the challenge every day. It certainly made me look at words and then, look again! I also congratulate those who entertained me all the month with beautiful poetry of their own. AND, every morning I had the pleasure of rising and looking immediately for the next lines of the Progressive Poem. Thank you all for that amazing creation, and thank you  Margaret, for keeping us going and organized! Happy May!

       I don't have my copies yet, but I also wish to congratulate Carol LaBuzzetta for her kindness, creativity, and tireless work in bringing this new anthology to the world! I'm proud to have a couple of poems in it and look forward to reading everyone else's! 

        With so many conflicts in our world today, and there are many, it's a pleasure to go back in years to find wisdom from another time. Though many of us worry about countries at war, protests far and near, and political strife, seeing a poem I found in an anthology from 1896 tells me that challenging conflicts happened then, too. I know some of history and I'm not surprised, but when I looked through the poems, their heartfelt look at people and seasons and animals, like today, felt nice. Life happened then as it is happening now. I wish everyone were safe and I imagine most wished that we could be as this poet wrote with such hope! The author appears to be anonymous, no name given anywhere in the book.

        The book was donated to the used bookstore where I work, is very old and falling apart. I have it wrapped in some newspaper to keep it intact and from flaking pieces everywhere!

 

title page

                       

opposite of the title page
The Statue of Liberty was unveiled on October 28, 1886, ten years
earlier than when this book was published.

Enjoy this first week of May, everyone!

April - Poetry Month - 2024, Day Thirty, For Our Future

   Happy End to Poetry Month!

        It's the finale for April! I've done my best to take the advice from the poet who has given so much to help us all, including students and teachers, write poetry. I'll be moving from A to Z, obviously needing to combine a few to make it all come out to 30. FYI—Sometimes, Paul Janeczko offers a prompt to write a poem that begins with the specific alphabet letter instead of a poem type. It will be fun to be open to writing in all kinds of ways!

       You can find the path to the Progressive Poem over to the right! Simply click on the graphic!

        As you can see above, the 26 letters of the Alphabet and the words that begin with them have been covered. I have been finding a few memories to write about, but this final day, I'm thinking of the future for all of us, considering our current world so filled with conflict! 

Bridge Stock photos by Vecteezy

Untitled

 

Wishing bridge building

between ideas

could be as beautiful

as capturing a chasm

with steel!

Linda Baie ©  

It's Monday - Some Terrific Books!

            

        Visit Kellee and Ricki at UnleashingReaders and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts to see what they and others have been reading! Your TBR lists will grow! 

          Here's what happened in my reading last week! It was a busy week, so I have fewer books, but each one will be a great one for certain people. I enjoyed them all!

         From the intro to this book on Goodreads: "When Jarrett J. Krosoczka was in high school, he was part of a program that sent students to be counselors at a camp for seriously ill kids and their families. Going into, Jarrett was worried: Wouldn't it be depressing, to be around kids facing such a serious struggle? Wouldn't it be grim?" 

        Jarrett Kroscoczka turns the early worries about being chosen to be on the crew for this special summer camp week into days he will always cherish, friendships that have stayed for a lot of years, and the memory of a few kids who blessed him by being who they were, in spite of serious illness. Allowing us readers to get to know those kids and to know his counselor buddies, how the whole camp felt like someone had found the best place in the world was a wonderful experience for me, too. Just knowing that volunteers make camps like this happen for those who in need made me re-read it yesterday, to be sure I didn't miss anything. I hope you who are reading this review won't miss reading it either!

      I enjoyed Krosoczka's visuals of the night scenes, which were full of fun activities for everyone, and the expressions, mostly happy, sometimes alarmed or sad, on both the kids' and the counselor's faces. As the week continued, faces became more relaxed and happy nearly always, until the goodbyes. 

         It's 1942, this time in occupied Paris and 12-year-old Miriam lives with her parents in the quarters set aside by the Nazis for Jewish people. Her father has been arrested and they know very little. Miriam (Miri) is shy and doesn't like going to stand in line for the small bits of food available but she does. This one time, nearly home, a roundup has started, and Miri cannot make it home but is pushed onto a bus with her neighbor and her young child, Nora. Right before, very near to her home, she hears a loud noise, thinking it a shot, thinking it was her mother killed. Then, on the bus, the neighbor begs Miri to take Nora when they get off, and run! That is the beginning of the story, filled with tension and worry, filled with a 12-year-old who must be cautious, learn who to trust, adults and then, roommates in a Catholic boarding school run by nuns. It is summer, and not all the kids are there, but two are, and one seems to look at Miri with mistrust. She knows to be so careful. There is much more to this story, a nearby castle, with both history and a way to get across the River Cher to a safer area of France. Imagining such a life for a young one is not unrealistic for that time. Many children had to act, to help others and to save themselves. This Miriam learned about courage during this time, along with some helpers, and some magic, too. Kmberly Brubaker Bradley make an interesting choice in this story, one I liked reading yet in creating something about such a perilous and tragic time for those persecuted, I'm unsure if the magic doesn't make less of the true stories of those who continually fought and took life-threatening chances to save people, young and old.